Reviews

This is the second trip that my wife and I have taken with Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours. We had the pleasure of having Chris Anderson as our Historian and George Luz, Jr. as our Tour Manager for both trips. They are the best in the tour business! I never knew much about Polish history before this trip. Chris did an incredible job of taking us back into time and showing us how Poland’s history was closely tied to World War II and why Hitler had a deep hatred toward Poland. The trip was like pieces of a puzzle that Chris put together for us throughout the tour. Today’s Poland is amazing and beautiful with wonderful people – I admire them greatly. Over the centuries Poland was beat down time and time again, but they have come back even stronger. Amazing country! We loved this trip! A side note: My wife had a stress fracture in her leg for the entire trip and our drivers (Klaas and Lucas) were so gracious and caring – they always made sure the wheelchair was available for us to use. Both men were wonderful – and great drivers too!

This profoundly moving tour dramatically expanded my understanding of WWII in Europe, particularly the often over-looked (by Americans) heroism and resilience of the Polish people. Bookended by visits to the sites where the war began (in Gdansk) and ended (in Berlin), the tour included many of the most iconic locations of WWII. Highlights for me were: seeing the Polish Post Office building in Gdansk; walking through the ruins of Hitler’s bunker at the Wolf’s Lair; visiting the “Mila 18” memorial in Warsaw; contemplating the Holocaust at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and studying the large-scale battlefield where a million Russian soldiers broke through to Berlin. Other stops were more contemporary, such as the Gdansk shipyard and the Berlin Wall. Along the way, our tour leader Chris Anderson and several local guides did an outstanding job of describing exactly what we were seeing and placing it in historical context. Chris cares deeply about the history and meaning of the war, which helped to make this trip an unforgettable experience.

Just got back from the Poland portion of this trip (led by Chris Anderson) and it was an absolute great time. Between the nice hotels, nice bus, nice driver, excellent itinerary, but most of all, the best guide in the business in Chris Anderson, it was a top notch, unparalleled tour. Chris is not only knowledgeable but passionate about history and understands the sacredness of the locations that we visited, and this passion comes through in the way he explains things.
In addition to Chris, SAHT brings in local experts at Gdansk, Wolf’s Lair, Warsaw castle, and Krakow, among others. They are well versed in their areas of expertise and deliver stories and knowledge with an energy that conveys how important these areas are to them, and to history.
The hotel stay at the Hotel Zemek Ryn is an interesting one as a 15th century castle turned four star hotel is an interesting transformation. Even though it took me a little bit to feel comfortable, I hope this stays on the itinerary as it is one of the aspects that make this tour unique and special.
Overall, it is a great tour and well worth it. I also met some very nice and interesting people. Highly recommend!

If you can only take one trip take the Poland Tour. All of the guides were very knowledgeable about the places and things we saw. The hotels were a mixture of old world and new. The people of Poland are hard working and very friendly. The food was outstanding.